Performance degradation of a vapor compression refrigeration system under fouled conditions

Performance degradation due to fouling in a vapor compression cycle is investigated for various applications. Considering the first set of refrigerants i.e. R134a, R410A and R407C, from a first law standpoint, the COP indicates that R134a always performs better unless only the evaporator is being fouled. In contrast to this, from a second-law standpoint, the second-law efficiency indicates that R134a performs the best in all cases. Considering the second set of refrigerants i.e. R717, R404A and R290, from a first law standpoint, the COP indicates that R717 always performs better unless only the evaporator is being fouled. In contrast to this, from a second-law standpoint, the second-law efficiency indicates that R717 performs the best in all cases. Volumetric efficiency of R410A and R717 remained the highest under the respective conditions studied. Furthermore, performance degradation of the evaporator often has a larger effect on compressor power requirement while that of the condenser has an overall larger effect on the COP. A new performance degradation law is presented in light of the data generated, which can reduce the amount of experimentation and help predict relevant quantities of the refrigeration system. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.